PLYMOUTH USA – Summer might be a time of rest for many, but for the world’s best junior hockey players it is a time to meet and greet and showcase your talent.

That is what is happening at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan as the junior teams of the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden take part in rigorous practices and a series of round-robin exhibition games. These are not to be taken lightly, and a quick look in the stands reveals dozens of scouts and interested parties.

“We’ve had a long history with Finland and Sweden in the under-20 program as a whole,” started Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2017 U.S. team preparing to compete in Toronto and Montreal this December. “Overall, they’re been consistent participants. Russia came once a few years ago. We’ve changed our structure a little bit by not keeping kids in camp the entire time. We were looking to cut back on the wear and tear on the players. For Canada, it was trying to figure out what made sense for both of us.

The rosters for the four teams are radically different. The hosts boast an incredible six players from the first round of the recent 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Canada has some top stars destined for the NHL right away and rookies looking to gain a little international experience. Finland is almost entirely 2017 draft-eligible players while the Swedes have a balanced lineup of youth and experience.

“I think it’s cyclical for all of us,” Johannson explained of the variety. “In general, Finland and Sweden have done a great job of having most of their top players here. We all strive to do that, but there are some situations beyond our control—injuries, where players are at in their NHL career. Our goal is to produce the best possible competition because it benefits everyone. We all understand that and strive to do that.”

Although the most obvious question is, why have an event like this in the summer?, when the teens could use the rest, “JJ” is quick with a good answer.

“This is a really important part of our evaluation,” he explained. “We don’t have a system that gets our players together in season. There is no international break. It’s a critical time for our coach to get to know the player pool. Often he’s coming in and meeting players for the first time. And for the players, although a lot of them know each other, it gives them a chance to catch up to where everyone is right now.”

That being said, there seems little chance this mini-tournament will explode into anything more.

“Right now, four is a good number of teams,” Johannson continued. “Programing-wise for the four that are here, we’re getting the games that we want, the breaks. It’s working. But we also want to be good international partners, so we’re open to looking at things, but to create a mini-World Juniors just doesn’t work. That’s not what we hope to get out of this week.”

JJ likes the look of his team here in Plymouth and is optimistic about the real thing at the end of the year. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of options up front,” he enthused. “We have a great blend of size and skill, scoring ability, physical presence. Even to go from 24 to 20 to 17 players here was a difficult process. We have a ton of options up front. On defence, the fun part for me is we have 11 or 12 guys who can play at this level. Now it’s a question of how do you pair them, how do they play together. We like to ask, ‘Who’s going to put their hand up? Who’s going to show consistency? How they can fit into our group of seven.’”

But this optimism is reined in by recent results. For the hosts, the last three U20s have been odd. In 2014, under rookie coach Phil Housley, the team was strong but surely not a gold-medal favourite. Yet, a remarkable gold it was. In the next two years, the team boasted powerful rosters but finished a disappointing fifth both times. What gives?

“You have to win the big games, and you have to be resilient,” Johannson rationalized. “You have to get better throughout the tournament. Little things can make a big difference. In 2014, twice we found a way to get down 5-on-3. We put ourselves in that situation and that was the difference in the game. Last year’s game with Russia in the semi-finals, we put ourselves in a bad situation again and got tired, and that affected our performance. We have to take better control of our game.”

Control is what this evaluation is all about. By learning as much as possible, and giving the players goals, these four nations hope to gain some traction on the podium on January 5, 2017, in Montreal. Evaluation, rosters, resilence, performance. It all begins in Plymouth. Now.

ANDREW PODNIEKS

]]>on leftWorldsIIHF2011 WM2003 Canada04 Czech Republic06 Finland05 Denmark07 France08 GermanyFri, 05 Aug 2016 16:04:00 +0200Old result, new attributeshttp://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/news/news-singleview-wm20/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5251
U20 world champion squad different than what Russians used to beFans in Buffalo and in front of TV screens saw it over and over again. Russia was one preliminary round loss away from the relegation round, they were virtually gone from the quarterfinal, three minutes away from a semi-final loss and they were down and seemingly out after two periods of the gold medal game.

Russia made the final round as the third-placed team of its group recovering from a start which saw them lose to Canada and Sweden. A win against the Czechs saved the playoffs.

Their comeback win in the quarterfinals against Finland was as unexpected as it was spectacular. They came back from a 3-1 deficit with two goals in the last four minutes of regulation time before the team’s only underaged player, Yevgeni Kuznetsov, scored again, at 6:44 of overtime.

After only 17 hours of rest, Russia faced Sweden and had another comeback win. Sergei Kalinin made it 4-4 with 87 seconds left in regulation time to pave the way for a shootout win.

Then, in the gold medal game against Canada, came the coronation of Russia’s series of comeback wins. Canada led 3-0 after dominating for two periods and nobody, really nobody, saw any indication that this game could turn into another direction. And still, it did, with five Russian goals in 16 minutes.

How could this be possible? How could this be achieved by Russia, whose hockey teams haven’t been known for huge comebacks, and for what North Americans often refer to as “character wins”?

One reason could be that the Russian hockey psyche has changed. Russian players survived the tough (although, successful in hockey terms) Soviet days and in the process they have survived the transition phase between the Soviet time and modern Russia that was characterized by chaos in many aspects of life in the ‘90s.

This included hockey with low salaries and with high-calibre players escaping to all kind of foreign leagues, from the NHL to Switzerland to Denmark to Italy.

All players on the gold-medal winning U20 national team were born when the Soviet Union was in the process of dissolution. They know this country only from history books.

When they were teenagers they were already playing in hockey organizations in a remodeled Russian hockey landscape, where players were true professionals and the best ones could earn more than anywhere else in Europe.

The top domestic league had become more professional in the 2000s, its clubs again won European club trophies after the Russian league’s deep crisis in the ‘90s and later, the founding of the KHL in 2008 solidified the upward trend.

When these players were 13, they saw the rise of superstar, Alexander Ovechkin, who became a top player of the Russian league and helped Russia win the U20 gold in 2003. This was followed by emergence of Yevgeni Malkin.

They saw on TV how the men’s national team found their way back to glory, winning the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, ending a 14-year draught. Since then they know how it is for their nation to win gold without needing to listen to tales from the glory days from their fathers and grandfathers, about how much more successful their generations were.

“When the men’s team won the World Championship in 2008 and 2009, the interest in hockey started to rise again in Russia,” said Valeri Bragin, who coached the U20s to the world title.

This might explain why these kids are different than those from a few years ago. Players like Yevgeni Kuznetsov, Vladimit Tarasenko and Maxim Kitsyn had their childhood years in a more stable situation. Both when it comes to general life in Russia, but also in terms of hockey development.

But there’s more behind all these changes that happened between the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and now. The end of the Soviet rule was also the end of centralization in Russian hockey. There was and still is a Central Sport Club of the Army (better known as CSKA Moscow), but it has lost the power to recruit any top player, like in the old days.

Dynamo Moscow won some Russian championships later on, the last one in 2005, but most titles have gone to clubs from other regions since Lada Togliatti became the first non-Moscow champion in Russian/Soviet hockey history in 1994.

Russian club hockey has for the last decade been dominated by teams from the vast area of central Russia – from the steel city of Magnitogorsk at the European-Asian border, to Kazan in Tatarstan or to Omsk in Siberia.

These are clubs that were not really relevant during the Soviet times and which lost their best players to the army team in Moscow. Now, they were suddenly competing for top players and for national reign with money mainly from local industry or regional governments. And they started developing players, with Malkin from Magnitogorsk as the best example.

This U20 national team that won gold is a reflection of the new Russian hockey landscape with strong clubs from all around the country and with a hockey scene in Moscow that went from dominant to struggling.

Of the 22 players, only five were raised in or around Moscow and seven came from the western part of Russia. This means 15 players, including most of the team leaders, were raised in central or eastern Russia, anywhere from the Tatar capital of Kazan to Khabarovsk near the Pacific Ocean.

These players have a different mentality than the Muscovites such as last year’s captain Nikita Filatov. They represent a hard-working, team-oriented and humble approach, which you might need in those regions.

And they don’t necessarily dream too much about the NHL, instead focusing on developing in Russia rather than becoming a junior star in Canada.

Coach Bragin, a Moscow-raised former Soviet U20 national team player, managed to combine the different mentalities into a team concept seldom seen since the end of the Soviet Union. There was a chemistry of cooperativeness and happiness during practices and in the games that hasn’t been seen before.

Bragin praised his players, and especially captain Vladimir Tarasenko, who came back from the dressing room during the gold medal game despite a rib injury. “He’s a real character guy and a real captain. He went on the ice despite feeling pain after every shift,” Bragin said.

Indeed, talking to Tarasenko, you can hardly hear a glimpse of selfishness or arrogance. You hear a player who is rather shy, who avoids big words and who prefers talking about the team.

“It’s not just about me; it’s all about the team,” Tarasenko said before the final round. “Every guy on our team can be a leader in a different moment.”

Or, as Denis Golubev said after scoring the deciding shootout goal against Sweden: “It doesn’t matter who scores the goals. It’s not about me, it’s about the team. We wanted to win badly because Russia hasn’t won the World U20 Championship for the last seven years.”

Or, as Kuznetsov commented after winning gold: “We improved as a team each game and we wanted to make our country proud. We were simply the best team in the end. We have the Russian character, that’s why we never gave up.”

And while the coach praised the players, they praised him. Valeri Bragin did not only merge these players into a strong unit, he also motivated them in the right moment. After the first intermission of the gold medal game he was angry enough to break a coaches’ board in the dressing room.

“The team didn’t play as they should. I just woke them up and told them how they should play,” Bragin commented.

And in the end it worked. And in the process, showing character hockey observers haven’t noticed from Russian junior squads before. Somehow, those Russian kids became “more Canadian” in a game where different styles of play have been merging in the last few decades.

Our period of discontent. With five goals on 10 shots, Russia makes a stunning comeback and delivers a numbing blow to the Canadian psyche. Team Canada’s monumental, third-period collapse hands gold to Russians, serves as a kick in the teeth for an entire nation.The Globe and Mail

From Gold to Groan. Last night, Canada settled for silver at the world junior hockey championship for the second consecutive year with a crushing 5-3 loss to Russia at the HSBC Arena. It was not just a loss; it was a collapse the likes of which Canada might never have seen. And when it was over, the Russians celebrated with the pure joy of youth. Canada’s players looked hollowed to the core. This will haunt a lot of dreams, for a long time. [...] In the Canadian locker room during this tournament there was a quote from former Red Army player Alexander Yakushev, reflecting on the 1972 Summit Series. In part, it says, “We would have loved for this series to end in a tie. It would be fair for us and for Canadians. But that goal proves how Canadians have that special quality. They fight until that last second. They push until they get what they want.” Last night, those words could be applied to the Russians. My, how the world has changed.National Post

Cold War Meltdown. One last time they poured across the longest undefended border in the world with passports in hand, some wrapped in flags, others dressed as Mounties, all expecting a coronation. Instead, they witnessed the greatest meltdown in the long, proud history of the Canadian national program. There have been shocking defeats before. Canada lost to Kazakhstan one year. Twice in the decade, Canadian teams have been beaten on home soil in the gold-medal game. But this? This was something else entirely. Something hard to describe. Or explain. [...] The goaltending of Mark Visentin will surely be blamed, and he didn’t make any saves of consequence when it mattered. But what was truly stunning was how his teammates completely lost their bearings after appearing focused, poised and machine-like for two periods.Toronto Star

Golden Egg. 20 minutes from celebration, Canadian juniors, fans instead witness historic collapse. It was only 20 minutes from being one of the greatest ever Canadian sporting moments. It ended up being one of its most disappointing. [...] You can imagine what it was like for the nail-biting, gold medal tilt between Canada and Russia. Poised for Canada to add to its hockey record book, the Russians had another idea. When Russia and Canada play hockey, it’s usually a classic. Count this as one of them. To say the people in the stands had their hearts in their mouths was an understatement. This was the hottest ticket in all of sports Wednesday.Toronto Sun

There where it hurts. Canada let go a 3-0 lead in the third period – and the gold medal. Russian players, who come to North America, are, with a few exceptions, often accused of lacking heart and playing too selfishly. Yesterday, the Russians enjoyed their total revenge. Canada was in full control of the situation, leading 3-0 after the first two periods. But the young Russians sowed consternation in Buffalo, coming back as irresistibly as improbably by scoring five goals in the last period.La Presse

Also the local Buffalo News reporters conveyed shock about the outcome of what was expected to become a Canadian party.

We’ll never completely understand Canada’s obsession with hockey because the United States doesn’t have one sport that captures our attention to quite the same degree. They don’t simply love the game in Canada. They live for the game in Canada. If there was anything unique about the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship, it’s that never before had so many fans from another country taken over an arena for so many days, made so much noise, been so happy and left so sad. [...] For 40 minutes, it was more of a coronation than a contest. Then it turned into one of the biggest chokes in hockey history, maybe the worst single-game collapse our neighbors to the north have ever seen in any sport.Buffalo News

Russian press stood still after the World U20 Championship. Not because the workers were celebrating the event too much, but because of the Russian Christmas. On the internet, however, it was a different story.

The junior national team showed the veterans how to play against Canadians. The game didn’t start according to our scenario. Russia was trailing 3-0 after two periods. But in the third period a miracle happened. The puck started flying into the Canadian net, one after another.Komsomolskaya Pravda

Champion! Going into the final 20 minutes with a 3-0 deficit, our outstanding team had a miraculous comeback. The Canadians knew that their opponents have character. But knowing is one thing, feeling something quite different. The Russians demonstrated their will and skill on the opponent. On the ice, there was only one team (in the third period). [...] The final buzzer marked the beginning of the Russian celebrations. The palace was half empty after the fifth goal, but those spectators that remained applauded the new champion.Sport-Express

Russia – World Champion! In the two previous games of the tournament, our team has already showed fantastic “salvations.” The games against Finland and Sweden proved that each of these guys has character. But what Bragin’s wards created in the final is beyond imagination.Sovietski Sport

Legend. Can you imagine what it means to play hockey against its inventors, on their rinks, with their audience? It may take many years, but those who did not sleep that night, who saw all this with their own eyes, will forever remember having witnessed legends. For a long time we haven’t seen a performance from our kids like that. And then – three (comeback wins) in a row.Championat.ru

Congratulations to our junior hockey national team for winning the world championship. Well done!Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on his Twitter account

It has become fashionable in Canada to hype its cross-border hockey rivalry with the United States as the hottest thing going. Doubtless, that impression has been stoked by the large number of Americans chosen in the first round of the NHL draft each year, as well as the two recent all-North America Olympic finals that Canada won (2002, 2010).

However, the reality remains that since 1999, Canada and Russia have faced off seven times in the World Junior gold medal game. In those meetings, Russia has won four times (1999, 2002, 2003, 2011) and Canada three times (2005, 2006, 2007). The Americans, meanwhile, have managed to defeat Canada in the final twice in that span (2004, 2010), and have disappointed in every other case, the bronzes of 2007 and 2011 notwithstanding.

The American Eagle needs to sharpen its claws before it can seriously challenge the Russian Bear as Canada’s greatest rival.

2. Bodychecking is not a cure-all solution

Anyone who listened to the Canadian media prior to the gold medal game would have concluded that all Team Canada needed to do was pound the Russians into submission in the first period and victory was guaranteed. However, the Russians weathered the Canadian physical assault early on, began to throw more hits of their own as the game wore on, and won the open ice they wanted to execute plays.

The lesson is clear. The Canadians may be the biggest and best when it comes to bodychecking, but they don’t have a monopoly on physical play. And if you push back, sometimes they’ll fold, just as they hope other teams will when they apply the battering-ram approach.

3. Timing is everything for coaches

In the final, Russia’s Valeri Bragin had good timing, and Canada’s Dave Cameron didn’t.

Unlike Vyacheslav Bykov’s questionable decision to leave Yevgeni Nabokov in goal until Canada led 6-1 in the Olympic quarterfinal in Vancouver, Bragin wisely chose to send a wake-up call to his roster by pulling Dmitri Shikin when the red-and-white opponents went up 3-0 in the second period. It wasn’t that Shikin had performed terribly, but it was a signal to his team.

Meanwhile, in the third period, Cameron didn’t call a time-out to settle down his squad until Russian captain Vladimir Tarasenko had tied the score at 3-3. By that time, the momentum had already swung irreversibly in Russia’s favour. Cameron’s gesture was too little, too late.

4. Age matters

It’s been said for many years that this is a tournament for 19-year-olds. Russia went with exclusively 1991-born players, with the exception of 18-year-old phenom Yevgeni Kuznetsov. Canada, meanwhile, iced five 1992-born players in the final, including goalie Mark Visentin, who was unable to come up with clutch saves down the stretch. Looks like there’s something to the old truism.

5. Don’t question Russia’s heart

Just as it’s unfair to stereotype Canadian players as crude barbarians who simply dump the puck in, hit everything in sight, and bang in rebounds, it’s equally silly to claim that Russian players are effete wimps who rely solely on skill, lack determination, and vanish in key situations. In its last three World Junior gold medal victories, Russia has come from behind to defeat Canada in each case. It rallied from a 4-2 deficit in 2002, a 2-1 deficit in 2003, and, of course, a 3-0 deficit this year. (Not to mention its preceding comeback wins over Finland and Sweden.)

Even a rib injury after being hit by a skate didn’t stop Russian captain Vladimir Tarasenko on January 5.

6. The Super Series was a sign

No, we’re not talking about the 2007 junior Canada-Russia Super Series, where the Canadians easily prevailed with seven wins and one tie. Think back to November, when the latest incarnation of the Subway Super Series was played. It’s a yearly six-game tour of Canada by Russian junior all-stars, facing off against the best of the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL.

The Russians had never won the series since 2003 (the year of their last World Junior title). Until November, that is, when they prevailed with four wins and two losses. Incidentally, their leading scorers, with six points apiece, were Maxim Kitsyn and Nikolai Dvurechenski, both of whom tallied for Russia in the gold medal game.

7. Kuznetsov looks like the next Malkin

While Canada’s Brayden Schenn impressed throughout the tournament with his goal-scoring and playmaking abilities, tying Dale McCourt’s Canadian record of 18 points, it was Yevgeni Kuznetsov, who saved his very best for the playoff round. Not only did he singlehandedly save Russia from quarterfinal disaster versus Finland by racking up two goals, including the OT winner, and an assist, but he also helped set up three of Russia’s five goals against Canada. And as the 18-year-old did so, his “swooping hawk” profile and deft puckhandling resembled nothing more closely than Russian international veteran and 2009 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Yevgeni Malkin.

It will be fascinating to see how the Traktor Chelyabinsk winger, whose NHL rights belong to Washington, pans out when he begins to fill out. (He is still a relatively slight 184 cm and 78 kg.)

8. They’re stars, but they’re kids too

Now, take a moment, and set aside what was just said about Kuznetsov. Remember to treasure the memories of the young talents you watched on both sides, because there’s no telling whether they will go on to pro stardom and Olympic glory, or simply eke out journeyman careers. Unless you’re dealing with surefire prospects like Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin, that question mark is always there.

Think of Igor Grigorenko and Yuri Trubachev, who keyed Russia’s offence in the 2003 gold medal game. They’ve had respectable but not legendary careers in the Russian league. Or what about Canadian goalie Justin Pogge? He shut out Russia 5-0 in the 2006 final, but at age 24, he’s played just seven NHL games and currently toils for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

9. Canada will be fine

As per usual when Canada loses a big international tournament, the country has sunk into a black funk that could only be topped if Tim Hortons went out of business and Neil Young was eaten by a polar bear. However, let’s be objective: Canada has made the World Junior final ten years in a row, a level of consistency that is the envy of every other hockey nation.

The Canadians also still have the deepest talent pool, and the most overwhelming love of the game, which will become apparent when Calgary and Edmonton co-host the 2012 World Juniors. A total attendance of 573,417 is projected, which would amazingly outstrip the 2004 IIHF World Championship attendance record of 552,097, set in the Czech Republic.

10. The result is good for hockey

Young Russian players will be inspired to defend their title in 2012. Canada will be hungry for revenge. The Americans will be keen to prove that, after underachieving at home, their sum can for once surpass their parts. Sweden, which has brought a “We’re ready to win” attitude since the 2008 tournament, will be raring to snap a 30-year drought. The Finns, Swiss, Czechs, and Slovaks will be even more fed up with having gone home empty-handed at recent World Juniors.

It’s a fun, exhilarating tournament, and in so many ways, from the fan response to the skill and heart of the players, it just seems to get better every year. That’s something all hockey lovers can be grateful for.

LUCAS AYKROYD

]]>on topWorldsU202011 WM2003 Canada15 Russiaon lefton right2012 WM20Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:59:00 +0100Videos from Buffalohttp://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/videos/
Cheers and tears in the IIHF.com video playeron leftWorldsU202011 WM20on lefton rightThu, 06 Jan 2011 08:57:00 +0100Russia shocks Canada, 5-3http://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/news/news-singleview-wm20/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5236
Collapse in third without precedent as Russia scores 5 in a row on topon top03 Canada20 United StatesWorldsU202011 WM20on leftWed, 05 Jan 2011 23:59:00 +0100See you in Albertahttp://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/news/news-singleview-wm20/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5234
Groups for 2012 World U20 Championship knownWith the conclusion of the 2011 gold medal game, the final ranking for 2011 and the preliminary-round groups for the 2012 IIHF World U20 Championship in the Canadian province of Alberta have been determined:

Group A in Calgary

Group B in Edmonton

Russia (1)

Canada (2)

Sweden (4)

United States (3)

Switzerland (5)

Finland (6)

Slovakia (8)

Czech Republic (7)

Latvia (9)

Denmark (10)

Host nation Canada will play Group B in Edmonton against the United States, Finland, the Czech Republic and Denmark in the 16,839-seat Rexall Place in Edmonton.

The Rexall Place is the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Seven Stanley Cup final series took place in this arena and the Millenium Place with its two rinks will serve as an additional practice facility.

The other group involves new world champion Russia together with Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia and Latvia. Group A as well as the final round and relegation round will take place in the 19,289-seat Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.

The Saddledome was built in 1983 for the new NHL franchise, the Calgary Flames, and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. It is also home to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.

The Canada Olympic Park with an Olympic-size arena for 2,500 spectators (to open in September 2011) and three NHL-size rinks will be used as a practice facility and offer flexible practice time for the teams.

The event marks the first time the “World Juniors” are hosted in two NHL arenas.

The season ticket holders from the two NHL franchises and from the two junior teams had the chance to purchase tickets before the priority ticket draw started for other fans who want to buy ticket packages for Calgary (21 games) or Edmonton (10 games).

Attention: The registration will close on the day after the gold medal game in Buffalo, on January 6th at noon Mountain Time.

For more information about the 2012 IIHF World U20 Championship and ticket packages, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/2012juniors

“The numbers are way beyond our wildest expectations. We tried to find the fairest way for all Albertans, Canadians and fans worldwide to buy packages,” said Al Coates, Executive Director of the host organizing committee. “We believe that all packages in Calgary and Edmonton will be sold out, and we’re working on a strategy to make sure all seats will be filled for every game.”

The event will certainly set a new World U20 attendance record, surpassing Ottawa 2009’s total attendance of 453,282.

The organizers prepare for this event well in advance. Eleven of its members travelled to Buffalo to observe with lot of praise how the event was run at HSBC Arena and to meet with IIHF representatives.

It’s not the first time the event takes place in Alberta, but Edmonton lost an earlier bid – that’s why these two NHL markets came together for the “Alberta United” bid.

Pre-competition camps and exhibition games are planned in other communities in the Province of Alberta prior to the start of the World U20 Championship to showcase the teams also in other areas.

There will also be other opportunities for fans who cannot attend the games at the arena. “We’re working in engaging the communities in Alberta for special events for fans and have established a separate committee for this,” Coates said.

The host organizing committee involves numerous organizations and representatives from Hockey Canada, its branch Hockey Alberta, the NHL teams Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, the junior teams Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, the Canadian Hockey League and the tourism authorities of Alberta and the host cities.

“The NHL teams own junior teams as well and they want to drive junior hockey business. They want more kids to play hockey and to buy tickets once they earn money,” Coates explains the big interest from the NHL franchises in bringing the event to Alberta and succeeding the Sabres’ success with hosting the event this winter.

Even before the preliminary-round groups have been known, selling tickets didn’t seem to be an issue in Canada.

“It has become an annual get-together after Christmas,” Coates aid. “We saw in Buffalo the total frenzy of Canadian fans crossing the borders and sometimes spending two hours at the border. There’s lot of excitement and the Canadians are anticipating for Alberta 2012.”

]]>on rightWorldsU202011 WM20on right03 Canada2012 WM20Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:58:00 +0100Brayden Schenn sweeps honourshttp://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/news/news-singleview-wm20/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5235
Three Canadians, two Russians named to All-Star TeamJack Campbell (USA) was the All-Star Team goaltender, while the remaining two were from new world champion Russia; forward Yevgeni Kuznetsov and defenceman Dmitri Orlov.

Canadian forward Brayden Schenn, who led all players with eight goals and ten assists for 18 points in seven games, was the run-away winner of the MVP race and he was also named Best Forward by the tournament directorate.

This is the third time U.S. goaltender Jack Campbell has been named to an IIHF All-Star Team. He was the All-Star goalie at both the 2009 and 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships, and also named directorate Best Goaltender in 2010.

The total attendance for the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship was 329,687 for 31 games, the second highest ever in the history of the event. Only Ottawa 2009 was better.

It is also the highest attendance of an IIHF international hockey event in United States history, drawing more fans to the arenas than the 2002 Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament in Salt Lake City (268,139 fans for 35 games). The 2005 U20 in Grand Forks, the previous best for the World Juniors in the U.S., had a total attendance of 193,256 for 31 games.

]]>on leftWorldsU202011 WM20on left03 Canada15 Russia20 United Stateson rightWed, 05 Jan 2011 23:56:00 +0100Dominik Bittner suspendedhttp://www.iihf.com/channels1011/wm20/news/news-singleview-wm20/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5232
German forward to miss three games next seasonAlthough no penalty was called on the play, a review of the incident was requested by tournament chairman Frank Gonzalez. The additional suspension was handed out by Dan Marouelli, the IIHF’s appointed Disciplinary Single Judge.

The Germans will play in Division I in 2012 and Bittner is still eligible to play in U20. As a result, the suspension will take effect for the first three games of the 2012 U20.

In making his assessment, Marouelli analyzed the play on DVD from every available angle. As well, he examined the medial reports, discussed the play with on-ice officials, and met with the referee supervisor.

Upon review it is clear that Bittner deliberately targeted the head of Stene with his stick striking him with a dangerous two-handed cross-check to the head.

Although there was no penalty assessed, this required further investigation of the incident as per Rule 510 of the IIHF Rulebook (Supplementary Discipline). Based on the investigation and the seriousness of Bittner's actions, he will be suspended for three games.

The IIHF has very specific rules regarding dangerous hits. These are not limited just to the head but to the neck area as well, which is defined by that part of the body above the collarbone and shoulder pads (i.e., unprotected areas).